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Farewell  to  Washington  of  J.  W.  Forney. 


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in  2016 


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M mediately  after  the  dessert  the  chairman,  B.  Perley  Poore, 
arose  and  snid : 


Remarks  of  J3en  J^erley  J^oore. 

Gentlemen  : There  is  in  the  Grecian  Archipelago  an  island  named 
Delos,  which  was  consecrated,  in  the  olden  time,  to  fraternal  enjoyment. 
At  stated  periods  of  each  year  the  people  of  the  different  nations  there- 
abouts used  to  meet  in  peace  at  Delos,  divest  themselves  of  all  feuds  or 
jealousies,  and  mingle  harmoniously  in  gay  and  festive  scenes. 

And  so  we,  who  work  in  the  press  harness  here  at  the  National 
Metropolis,  meet  semi-occasionally  around  a social  board,  which  is  our 
Delos.  Here  professional  rivalries  and  jealousies  are  banished — men 
who  wore  the  blue,  and  men  who  wore  the  gray  in  the  recent  strife 
fraternize — the  spirited  free-lancers  who  dash  through  the  press  col- 
umns, slashing  right  and  left  with  keen  pens,  meet  amicably  with  us 
old  fogies,  who  constitute  the  'heavy  artillery — and  the  only  words 
spoken  that  all  regret  are  those  with  which  we  so  joyously  conclude  our 
daily  toil — good-night. 

On  this  occasion  something  more  than  a mere  wish  to  pass  a social 
evening  has  brought  us  together.  We  have  met  to  honor  one  who  has 
not  only  been  pleasantly  associated  with  us  here,  but  who  has  ever 
endeavored  to  make  our  profession  honorable.  Connected  especially 
with  the  city  press,  it  is  proper  that  he  should  be  addressed  by  the 
senior  Washington  editor  on  this  occasion,  and  I will  call  upon  Mr.  C. 
S.  Noyes,  of  the  Evening  Star,  to  propose  the  first  regular  toast  com- 
plimentary to  our  especial  guest. 

Mr.  Noyes,  in  reply,  made  the  following  remarks  : 

jSPEECH  OF  p.  p.  J'lOYES. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  : In  view  of  the  numerous  bald 
heads  about  me,  probably  it  had  better  be  understood,  before  we  go  any 
further,  that  the  seniority  on  the  city  press  just  alluded  to,  that  gives 
me  the  honor  of  offering  the  opening  toast,  is  only  my  professional  age. 
But  though  I have,  for  more  than  fifteen  years,  been  connected  with 
the  paper  with  which  I am  now  identified,  there  are  several  now  here 
who  can  date  a connection  with  Washington  journalism  further  back. 

My  friend,  Major  Poore,  who  has  just  called  me  up,  and  who  wears 
his  ripe  years  with  such  grace  and  bupyancy,  occupied  an  editorial 
tripod  on  the  Star  when  I was  learning  the  trade  of  reporter,  and  gave 
me  some  excellent  training  at  that  time,  for  which  I take  this  occasion 
to  thank  him.  Another  venerable  friend,  at  the  other  end  of  the  table, 
who  seems  to  have  found  the  secret  of  perpetual  youth,  and  w ho  Jove- 
like,  sends  out  his  thunders  from  his  Fourteenth  Street  throne  to  the 
ends  of  the  world  over  the  wires  of  the  Associated  Press,  was  concerned 
in  Washington  journalism  before  my  time,  and  published,  so  long  ago 
as  1745 — 1845  I mean — a lively  daily  paper  called  The  Bee , that- 
merited  a long  life  had  the  times  been  propitious. 

Coming  down  from  the  pre-Adamite  to  the  A<7am-ite  period  I suspect 
that  my  respected  senior  opposite,  who  had  newspaper  experience  here 
long,  long  years  ago,  and  had  something  to  do  with  that  brilliant  paper, 
the  States , that  for  some  time  gave  the  Star  so  lively  a race  for  popular 


favor,  but  which  the  gods  loved  and  died  young,  ranks  me  in  years  as  a 
Washington  newspaper  man. 

And  if  I am  not  mistaken,  our  guest  of  to-night  was  connected  as  a 
contributing  editor  with  the  Washington  press  as  far  back  as  1845 — 
nearly  thirty  years  ago — when  his  vigorous  pen  which  even  then  had 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  country,  was  enlisted  by  the  veteran  Ritchie, 
for  the  Washington  Union , together  with  writers  of  the  ability  of  Andrew 
Stevenson  and  William  Overton,  of  Virginia;  Ovid  F.  Johnson  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Edmund  Burke,  of  New  Hampshire/ 

But  it  is  of  Mr.  Forney’s  career  at  the  head  of  a Washington  paper 
of  his  own  that  I am  able  to  speak  of  my  own  knowledge,  and  it  is  from 
what  I have  seen  and  known  of  him  in  that  capacity  that  I feel  it  an 
honor  to  be  called  upon  to  propose  the  toast  I am  about  to  do.  I had 
known  him  as  a trenchant  and  fertile  writer,  but  it  was  not  until  thrown 
into  the  association  with  him  that  followed  upon  his  entering  upon  the 
publication  of  a newspaper  here  that  I came  to  know  and  appreciate 
the  other  and  finer  qualities  that  distinguished  him  in  his  profession  ; his 
honorable  pride  in  that  profession  and  his  solicitude  that  nothing  should 
lower  it;  his  nice  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others;  his  care  in  his  most 
vigorous  warfare  to  avoid  disparagement  of  the  motives  of  his  opponents, 
and  the  generous  heartiness  with  which  the  amende  is  made  when  a 
paragraph  of  this  kind  finds  its  way  into  his  columns  without  his 
knowledge  and  against  his  rule ; his  zeal  in  cultivating  a proper  esprit 
du  corps  amongst  journalists,  and  his  warm-hearted  encouragement  to 
young  men  seeking  'to  make  their  way  in  the  profession.  These  are 
some  of  the  qualities  that  cause  those  of  us  who  know  him  best  to  love 
and  respect  him  the  most  He  has  shown  us  that  it  is  possible  to  write 
forcibly  without  vituperation,  to  carry  on  a controversy  with  unflinching 
courage  without  ever  striking  below  the  belt. 

It  was  a rule  with  the  late  Joseph  Gales  to  drop  a controversy,  no 
matter  what  advantage  he  had  in  the  argument,  the  moment  it  threatened 
to  run  into  personalities,  and  Mr.  Forney  seems  to  have  made  a like  rule 
for  himself.  We  of  the  profession  are  apt  to  discourse  a good  deal 
about  the  dignity  of  the  press,  and  the  necessity  of  maintaining  that 
dignity  by  decorum  and  the  cultivation  of  what  has  such  a fine  sound 
as  a phrase,  “ the  Amenities  of  Journalism ;”  but.  after  the  fashion  of 
other  guide-boards,  we,  for  the  most  part,  point  the  way  we  don’t  follow. 
Yes  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there  is  a general,  though  slow,  progress 
toward  a higher  plane.  And  if  ever  that  millennial  period  is  reached 
when  newspaper  men  shall  find  it  possible  to  live  together  in  unity  and 
peace,  it  will  be  through  the  influence  of  such  gatherings  as  this,  and 
of  such  exemplars  as  him  we  are  assembled  to-night  to  honor. 

I give  you  as  a toast — ■“  Colonel  John  W.  Forney  : Distinguished  as 
a journalist,  efficient  as  an  official,  zealous  as  a politician,  forgiving  as 
an  opponent,  and  true  as  a friend.  We  who  have  been  professionally 
associated  with  him  here  at  the  national  metropolis  part  with  him  with 
regret,  and  wish  him  godspeed.” 

Colonel  Forney  then,  amid  cheers  and  applause,  spoke  as  follows : 


Speech  of  Colonel  Forney. 


Let  me  confess,  gentlemen,  that  I have  a professional  prejudice  against 
a public  dinner.  There  was  an  age — it  seems  almost  a century  since — 
when  I had  a great  longing  to  be  invited  to  one;  but  that  was  in  the 
genesis  of  my  newspaper  aspirations.  Any  one  who  is  compelled  to 


H AREWELL 


to  Washington  of 


f-f-  f° 


report  the  platitudes  of  others,  as  all  of  us  have  done,  is  not  easily  ap- 
peased by  good  fare  and  a generous  host.  He  gradually  tires  of  the 
“ damnable  iteration,”  and  finds  himself  at  last  a remorseless  critic. 
He  has  no  mercy  for  the  toast-master,  the  orator  or  the  company,  and  he 
escapes  from  his  task  to  his  solitary  pipe  or  his  faithful  author,  well  con- 
vinced that  public  dinners  have  been  invented  for  the  special  degradation 
of  newspaper  men.  But  are  we  not  apt  to  carry  this  prejudice  too  far? 
A public  dinner  is  only  an  exaggerated  private  dinner,  and  such  I pro- 
pose to  regard  to-night’s  festivity. 

That  first  of  American  Bohemians,  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  began 
his  editorial  career  at  twelve  or  fourteen  years  old,  in  the  streets  of 
Boston,  by  selling  ballads  or  “ varses,”  as  he  called  them,  and  whose 
grandmother,  Mary  Morrell,  was  bought  by  his  grandfather,  Peter  Folger, 
for  tweuty  pounds,  out  of  white  slavery,  taught  us  all,  through  his 
great  life,  to  be  proud  of  our  vocation,  and  never  more  than  in  the  first 
lines  of  his  last  will  and  testament,  which  begins  with  : “ I Benjamin 
Franklin,  printer,  late  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the  United  States 
of  America  to  the  Court  of  France,  now  President  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania,” etc.  For  while  every  journalist  is  not  a printer,  the  tie 
between  the  editorial  and  composing  rooms  is  so  strong  and  so  close  that 
the  man  who  writes  has  no  keener  regret  than  that  he  has  not  learned 
to  set  types.  Yet  is  it  not  true  that  we  have  little  of  that  pride  which 
inspires  and  aids  every  other  profession  or  calling  ? 

We  have  the  lawyers  bound  together  by  their  sheepskins ; we  have 
societies  of  doctors  combined  by  their  diplomas ; we  have  the  guilds  of 
the  scholars  sealed  by  their  personal  attachments;  we  have  the  merchants 
with  their  boards  of  trade;  the  moneyed  men  with  their  boards  of 
brokers ; the  farmers  with  their  agricultural  leagues ; the  mechanics  with 
their  trades  unions,  the  labor  combinations  extending  all  over  the  States 
and  Territories ; we  have  the  clergy,  Protestant  and  Catholic,  Hebrew 
and  Greek,  however  divided  on  other  things,  acting  together,  each  in 
their  special  work ; we  have  the  ladies  forgetting  their  dissensions  and 
uniting  at  last  for  suffrage  and  self-protection ; but  who  ever  has  heard 
of  a corporation  of  journalists  or  a guild  of  editors  that  lasted  beyond 
one  or  two  voluble  conventions  or  a luxurious  railroad  excursion,  when 
they  paid  their  way  by  flattery  of  their  entertainers  ? 

I do  not  stop  to  solve  the  difficulty  or  supply  the  remedy.  I state  a 
plain  fact  for  your  reflection.  I am  talking  to  a most  critical  audience, 
and  one  that  will  not  certainly  accuse  me  of  flattery,  when  I say  that  if 
we  are  underrated  by  those  we  are  eternally  building  up,  it  is  because  we 
are  not  true  to  ourselves. 

I cannot  tell  you  how  much  I am  obliged  to  you  for  this  really 
generous  compliment.  I am  not  going  to  say  I do  not  deserve  it  at  your 
hands ; for  there  is  not  one  man  in  this  goodly  company  that  I do  not 
count  as  my  personal  friend,  and  to  whose  house  I would  not  go  unin- 
vited, if  I happened  in  his  town  hungry  and  poor.  I hope  you  will  all 
believe,  if  you  come  my  road,  that  my  home  will  be  open,  and  my  heart 
warm  to  welcome  you.  I feel,  therefore,  that  it  is  right  for  us  to  be 
together  to-night.  I have  been,  off  and  on,  a quarter  of  a century  here- 
away. I have  seen,  as  you  have,  a great  many  changes,  but  that  which 
has  most  gladdened  me  is  the  rapid  rise  of  our  profession.  You  here  at 
this  board, — each  man  representing  a great  paper,  and  so  many  trustees 
of  the  interests  and  honor  of  your  chiefs ; not  a few  fit  to  be  chiefs  your- 
selves,— have  done  much  to  elevate  the  character  of  that  profession.  The 
very  responsibility  imposed  on  the  correspondents  and  editors  at  the 


capital  makes  them  gentlemen.  It  is  astonishing  how  a pen  in  the  hand 
of  an  honest  man  always  appeals  to  his  conscience.  It  is  true  the  power 
you  wield  breeds  and  impels  suspicion,  and  those  who  fear  are  ever 
prompt  to  falsify.  But  let  me  say  this  for  you,  my  friends,  that  in  a 
long  course  of  years,  begun  even  when  “Grandfather  ” Gobright  was  a 
young  man  about  town,  I heard  of  corrupt  politicians,  dishonest  legis- 
lators, treacherous  Cabinet  ministers,  and  heartless  Presidents;  but 
among  the  best  men  I have  ever  known — the  truest  friends  and  the  most 
unselfish  patriots — were  those  I made  in  the  printing-office,  and  the 
Bohemians  who  come  here  to  take  notes  before  they  plume  their  pinions 
for  bolder  flights. 

When  the  Revolutionary  war  began  in  April  of  1775,  there  was  one 
paper  in  New  Hampshire,  seven  in  Massachusetts,  two  in  Rhode  Island, 
four  in  Connecticut,  four  in  New  York,  nine  in  Pennsylvania,  two  in 
Maryland,  two  in  Virginia,  two  in  North  Carolina,  three  in  South  Carolina 
and  one  in  Georgia.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1810,  New  Hampshire 
had  twelve,  all  weeklies ; Massachusetts  thirty-two,  all  weeklies  but  nine 
that  were  semi-weeklies;  Rhode  Island  seven  weeklies  and  one  semi- 
weekly; Connecticut  eleven,  all  weekly;  A’ermont  fourteen,  all  weekly; 
New  York  sixty-six,  of  which  seven  were  daily  and  six  semi-weekly  ';  New 
Jersey  eight,  all  weeklies;  Pennsylvania  seventy-one,  of  which  nine 
were  daily,  three  semi- weekly  and  one  tri-weekly,  all  the  rest  weekly; 
Delaware  two  semi- weekly;  Maryland  twenty-one,  of  which  five  were 
daily,  four  tri-weekly,  six  semi-weekly  and  the  rest  weekly ; the  District 
of  Columbia  six, — the  National  Intelligencer , tri-weekly,  by  S.  H.  Smith 
and  Joseph  Gales,  Jr. ; the  Universal  Gazette,  weekly,  by  S.  H.  Smith ; 
the  Monitor , tri-weekly,  by  J.  B.  Colvin ; the  Spirit  of  ’76,  semi-weekly, 
by  Edward  C.  Stannard;  the  Independent  American , at  Georgetown, 
tri-weekly,  by  Edgar  Patterson;  the  Alexandria  Gazette , daily,  at 
Alexandria,  by  Samuel  Snowden.  Virginia  had  twenty-three  papers,  of 
which  there  were  six  semi-weekly  and  one  tri-weekly,  with  Thomas 
Ritchie  at  the  head  of  the  Enquirer  and  Samuel  Pleasants  at  the  head 
of  the  Argus,  afterward  the  Whig ; North  Carolina  had  ten,  all  weekly; 
South  Carolina  ten,  three  daily,  two  semi-weekly  and  five  weekly; 
Georgia  had  thirteen,  of  which  one  was  tri-weekly,  two  semi-weekly 
and  the  rest  weekly ; Kentucky  seventeen,  all  weekly ; Tennessee  six, 
all  weekly;  Ohio  fourteen,  all  weekly;  Indiana  Territory  one  weekly, 
printed  at  Vincennes,  by  Elihu  Stout;  Mississippi  Territory  four  week- 
lies; the  Territory  of  Orleans  ten  papers,  all  printed  at  New  Orleans, 
of  which  two  were  daily,  four  tri-weekly,  one  semi-weekly  and  one 
weekly,  most  of  them  being  in  French  and  English  and  one  in  Spanish. 
And  then  we  had  the  Missouri  Gazette,  weekly,  at  St.  Louis,  published 
by  Joseph  Charless.  The  whole  list  in  1810  stood  : Twenty-seven  daily 
papers,  thirty-eight  printed  twice,  fifteen  three  times  and  two  hundred 
and  seventy-nine  once  a week. 

I can  remember  the  old  Ramage  wooden  press  and  the  buckskin  balls 
with  which  I worked  off  many  “ a token,”  giving  a whole  day  to  an 
edition.  As  I stand  before  one  of  Hoe’s  lightning  creations,  which 
throws  oft’  its  20,000  an  hour,  I feel  like  standing  before  some  great 
Genie  born  to  annihilate  error  and  to  uplift  the  oppressed  of  all  the 
world.  I go  back  to  my  native  town,  and  visit  the  spot  where  stood 
the  little  brick  office  where  I spent  the  happiest  days  of  my  life,  setting 
and  distributing  type,  reading  proof,  “pulling  off”  a considerable  edition 
of  my  employer’s  papers,  and  then  helping  to  pack,  direct,  and  get  them 
into  the  one-horse  mails  of  the  time.  And  I find  it  gone,  but  in  its 


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plnco  a daily  paper,  printed  in  an  extensive  establishment,  with  steam 
presses;  and  this  daily  rivaled  by  another  for  the  evening,  and  by 
weeklies  equally  prosperous,  not  in  the  county  seat  alone,  but  in  every 
considerable  village  within  its  limits.  There  are  hundreds  of  counties 
in  the  thirty-seven  States  and  ten  Territories  of  our  happy  country,  of 
which  this  picture  of  my  native  Lancaster,  in  good  old  Pennsylvania, 
may  be  as  truly  drawn. 

I came  first  to  the  nation’s  capital  when  most  of  the  Washington 
papers  above-named  had  passed  out  of  existence,  all  save  the  old  Intelli- 
gencer  and  the  Globe;  but  I remember  well  the  influence  exerted  by 
Duff  Green,  the  bold  ability  of  Francis  P.  Blair,  the  personal  power  of 
that  illustrious  pair,  Gales  and  Seaton,  whose  gentle  manners  in  society, 
and  whose  scholarship  in  journalism  gave  them  such  a prestige  in  all 
circles,  and  secured  to  them  an  enduring  fame.  Party  policy  had  just 
superseded  the  Blairs  by  the  Ritchies.  In  those  days  a Government 
organ  did  not  need  more  than  a year  or  two  to  enrich  the  proprietor. 
The  choicest  plum  that  could  be  given  to  the  faithful  scribe,  Democratic 
or  Whig,  was  to  appoint  him  Government  editor,  with  all  the  resulting 
patronage  of  printing  and  advertising.  There  never  was  a more  disin- 
terested or  simple-hearted  man  than  Thomas  Ritchie.  He  was  succeeded 
by  General  Armstrong,  of  Tennessee,  equally  generous  and  honest.  I 
have  often  thought,  if  the  Duff  Greens,  the  Blairs,  and  Riveses,  the 
Ritchies  and  the  Armstrongs,  had  had  railroads,  telegraphs  and  short- 
hand reporters  at  their  command  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago,  they  would 
have  made  Washington  City  the  seat  of  a prosperous  and  permanent 
journalism ; for  they  paid  all  their  employes  like  princes.  But  all  these 
great  agencies  are  the  real  outgrowth  of  the  last  twenty  years — may  I 
not  say  it,  almost  the  outgrowth  of  the  war  ? We  had  no  such  photo- 
graphs of  Congress  and  society  as  we  have  to-day.  Our  telegraph  news 
amounted,  when  it  came,  to  nothing.  We  had  no  Gobright  to  collect, 
digest,  distill  and  distribute  the  intelligence  of  the  capital  to  all  the 
extremities  of  the  continent.  We  had  no  Donn  Piatt  to  tell  the  gentle- 
men in  office  their  faults ; no  Crounse  to  speak  of  their  good  deeds ; no 
Townsend  to  describe  battles ; no  Perley  Poore  to  enrich  Boston  Journals 
by  faithful  services ; no  Painters  to  satisfy  exacting  Inquirers  ; no  San- 
derson to  out- Herald  Heralds;  no  Warden  to  watch  over  distant  Posts; 
no  Macfarlands  to  enlighten  The  Press ; no  Boynton  to  inspire  the 
Gazette ; no  Adams  to  illuminate  the  World ; no  Harvey  to  civilize  the 
North  American;  no  Allen  to  make  Democracy  popular;  no  Hinton  to 
make  Radicalism  agreeable;  no  Noyes  to  cultivate  his  Star  in  peace  and 
prosperity;  no  Florence  to  make  every  Sunday  Gazette  a fragrance  and 
a flavor;  no  Murtagh  to  murder  vice  without  offense  to  those  who  practice 
it;  no  Harris  to  harrass  rivals  with  enterprising  Patriots ; no  Shaw 
whom  none  dare  to  pshaw;  no  Youngs  to  teach  us  the  folly  of  growing 
old ; no  Washington  to  make  us  forget  rebellion ; no  Barr  to  welcome 
us  with  hearty  hospitality ; and  no  Coyle  to  sing  the  “ Good  Arkansas 
Gentlemen  all  of  the  Olden  Time.” 

But  now  our  responsibilities  increase  every  hour.  Improvements  in 
machinery,  paper  and  type,  in  the  transmission  of  news  and  the  educa- 
tion of  the  people,  demand  stupendous  efforts  in  proprietors,  publishers 
and  editors.  We  are  passing  out  of  the  realm  of  Fancy  into  the  realm 
of  Reality.  The  only  intolerance  tolerated  now  is  intolerance  of  loose 
writing  and  unfounded  statement.  No  sensation  compensates  like  that 
which  is  based  on  truth.  Readers  and  editors  clamor  for  the  gold  of 
facts.  A ripe  journalist,  like  Greeley,  or  Bennett,  who  pays  thousands 


of  dollars  for  a single  accurate  telegram  from  the  scat  of  war,  at  home 
or  abroad,  receives  more  compliments  than  a successful  general,  and  is 
better,  because  ungrudgingly  paid.  And  although  in  my  own  opinion 
we  are  still  too  negligent  of  our  influence  and  of  our  interests,  no  one 
can  trace  the  magical  growth  of  journalism  in  this  country  and  its 
magical  improvement  in  style  and  temper,  without  predicting  a still 
healthier  and  more  thorough  revolution.  I have  given  you  a few  details 
of  the  condition  and  number  of  newspapers  in  the  United  States  in  177o 
and  in  1810.  But  in  1870,  sixty  years  after  the  last  date,  we  count 
fifty-five  hundred  news  periodicals  of  all  degrees,  with  a probable  annu  il 
circulation  of  not  less  than  seven  hundred  and  twenty-five  millions.  Of 
these  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  are  dailies,  circulating  nearly  two 
millions  of  copies  every  twenty-four  hours;  one  hundred  and  sixty  are 
agricultural  journals,  circulating  over  half  a million  ; and  about  three 
hundred  religious  periodicals,  circulating  over  two  and  a half  millions  of 
copies  of  each  edition — an  aggregate,  without  counting  our  monthly 
literature,  larger  than  that  of  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world.  In  fifty 
years,  when  our  population  shall  have  attained,  on  the  present  ratio  of 
increase,  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions,  the  boy  of  seventeen  to-day 
will  have  a far  different  story  to  tell.  God  only  knows  what  science 
will  do  for  humanity  in  the  interval.  The  work  of  redemption  is  not 
finished.  Freedom,  in  its  best  sense,  having  rescued  one  world,  has 
many  more  to  conquer  by  its  sublime  agencies.  Let  us  so  bear  ourselves 
in  the  little  margin  that  lies  between  as  and  the  grave  that  when  we  are 
remembered,  if  remembered  at  all,  it  will  be  as  men  who  worked  for  the 
welfare  of  their  fellow-creatures  with  all  their  hearts,  and  who  employed 
their  best  gifts  for  the  best  interests  of  their  common  country. 

The  Chairman  then  said  to  Mr.  Gobright,  of  the  Associated  Press, 
whose  ramifications  extend  all  over  the  country,  “ I propose  to  drink  a 
regular  toast,”  in  reply  to  which  Mr.  Gobright  said : 


Speech  of 


AP' 


OBRIGHT, 


Gentlemen  : The  glory  of  a free  people  is  the  possession  of  a 
government  founded  upon  justice.  It  is  their  duty  at  all  times  to 
defend  it  against  assaults  from  without  and  the  causes  of  ruin  within. 
Education  is  an  essential  principle  with  a view  to  the  elevation  of 
morals.  The  political  superstructure  being  a social  necessity,  contro- 
versies as  to  the  architecture  and  materials  to  be  employed  only  excite 
comment  and  thus  quicken  the  interest  in  the  great  results.  The 
people,  however,  select  the  workmen — Congress  to  make  the  laws,  the 
judiciary  to  expound  them,  the  President  to  administer  them,  and  the 
press  to  record  them  with  comments,  either  of  censure  or  favor- 
able, as  the  public  interests  may  demand.  We  have  heard  from 
the  press  ; it  is  but  just  that  we  should  now  hear  from  Congress — from 
one  who  is  a native  and  a resident  of  a part  of  the  country  the  people 
of  which  have  long  been  familiar  with  the  subject  of  constitutions  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  religious  and  political  freedom.  I.  therefore,  in 
the  name  of  this  society  and  at  the  command  of  our  President,  respect- 
fully call  upon  the  Hon.  Charles  Sumner  to  respond  to — 

‘•The  Government  of  the  United  States;  the  press  records  with 
pride  the  acts  of  the  executive  and  legislative  branches  to  secure  the 
honor  of  the  nation  abroad  and  its  prosperity  at  home.” 


4* 


Farewell 


If- 


ASHINGTON  OF 


f-J-  fc 


RESPONSE  OF 


j^ON.  £b 


H* 


Well,  Mr.  President,  when  I listened  to  the  learned  remarks  of  -nur 
excellent  friend  Mr.  Gobright,  on  education,  on  architecture,  and  various 
other  interesting  and  important  topics,  I could  not  imagine  that  he 
would  land  on  me.  [Laughter.]  By  what  process  I am  brought  in 
that  line  is  past  my  compfehension ; and  I am  still  further  mystified 
when  I find  that  I am  addressed,  if  I may  so  say,  or  called  upon  to 
respond  I will  say,  for  the  Government.  [Great  laughter.] 

Mr.  President,  do  I represent  the  Government  ? [Laughter.]  I 
wish  I did  represent  the  Government.  [Applause.]  I fear  that  I do 
not.  I do  represent  Massachusetts  [great  applause],  venerable,  beloved 
Commonwealth,  who  gives  me  a commission  to  speak;  but  I do  not 
represent  the  Government.  And  yet,  as  you  speak  of  the  Government, 

I am  reminded  of  an  incident  which  may  not  be  familiar  to  all,  as  indeed 
I do  not  remember  ever  to  have  seen  it  in  print,  of  what  occurred  to 
Joseph  Bonaparte  when  he  first  landed  in  New  York  after  the  over- 
throw of  his  family.  When  leaving  France  he  sought  a home  on  this 
side  of  the  ocean,  and,  landing  at  New  York,  he  looked  about  for  a 
soldier,  a gens  d’arme,  or  at  least  a policeman,  to  whom  he  could 
exhibit  his  passport.  But  he  found  neither,  and  at  last  exclaimed : 

“ This  is  the  first  country  where  I ever  found  myself  in  which  I could 
not  find  the  government.”  [Laughter.]  And  I believe  that  you  are 
not  more  fortunate  to-night  when  you  address  me  than  J oseph  Bona- 
parte was  when  in  New  York  he  could  not  find  the  Government. 
[Laughter  and  applause.] 

But,  Mr.  President,  I believe  that  to-night  you  are  thinking  much 
less  of  the  Government  than  of  your  guest.  [Applause.]  At  least  I 
confess  that  I am;  you  know  we  are  talking  confidentially  here. 
[“Yes;  no  reporters.”]  And  yet,  if  you  will  allow  me,  as  you  allude 
to  the  Government,  to  be  for  one  moment  grave,  I will  say  that  for 
this  Government  of  ours  I do  wish  that  it  may  be  so  good  and  true 
and  brave  that  it  may  become  an  example  of  republican  institutions 
and  commend  them  throughout  the  world.  [Great  applause.]  I am 
a believer  in  republican  institutions.  By  that  sign  I believe  civiliza- 
tion is  to  conquer,  and  therefore  do  I wish  that  my  country  should  be 
a great  example.  [Applause.] 

I must  not  forget,  however,  the  title  by  which  I am  here  to-night. 

I am  here  only  as  a witness.  This  is  a celebration  between  the  gentle- 
men of  the  press  in  Washington  and  an  honored  guest,  the  party  of 
the  first  part  being  the  press,  and  the  party  of  the  second  part  my 
honored  friend,  John  W.  Forney.  I am  only  a witness.  Of  course, 
you  can  expect  little  from  a witness.  I should  cheerfully  sign  my 
name  in  a corner,  and  all  the  substantive  parts  are  independent  of  me. 
But,  so  far  as  it  may  be  permitted  to  a witness  to  declare  anything, 
may  I declare  the  pleasure  that  I have  in  this  token  of  fellowship  and 
harmony,  so  honorable  to  the  many  hosts  and  to  the  single  guest. 
[Applause.]  Such  a token  is,  to  my  mind,  an  example  which  must 
do  much  to  smooth  those  differences  which,  unhappily,  too  often  arise 
in  public  life. 

Are  we  not  told,  though,  that  we  all  reap  as  we  have  sown  ? And 
has  not  our  guest  always  sown  the  seeds  of  kindness  and  good  will  ? 
[Great  applause.]  And,  therefore,  should  he  not  now  reap  this  reward  ? 
i remember  full  well  that  in  my  early  friendship  with  our  guest  there 
were  differences  on  important  questions;  but  I remember  also  that 

k. 


amidst  all  those  differences  there  was  a constant  amenity  which  made 
me  forget  them.  He  is  about  to  go  from  this  circle  by  which  he  is 
now  surrounded,  and  with  which  he  has  so  long  lived  in  intimacy, 
to  find  his  home  in  another  circle;  and  the  best  wish  that  I can 
give  to  him  is,  that  where  he  goes  he  may  find  the  same  happiness 
and  the  same  welcome  which  I am  sure  he  has  here.  [Applause.] 
Our  guest,  only  a moment  ago,  in  conversation  with  me  alluded  to 
this  Saturday  evening  which  so  peculiarly  belongs  to  you,  and  he 
likened  it  to  the  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night.  In  that  exquisite,  perhaps 
unrivaled  poem  of  Burns — I know  not  if  I can  remember  the  words — 
the  poem  I have  often  read,  and  I cannot  forget  it,  we  are  told : 

“ The  toil-worn  cotter  from  his  labor  goes. 

To-night  his  weekly  moil  is  at  an  end, 

. His  mattock  he  finds,  his  spade  and  hoes.” 

Such,  I believe,  is  your  case  to-night,  my  friends,  unless,  unhappily, 
you  are  connected  with  the  Sunday  press.  [Great  laughter.]  And 
now,  may  I say,  in  closing"  these  "remarks  [“  Go  on!”]  that  I can  only 
wish  for  you  that  from  this  social  enjoyment  you  may  have  the  refresh- 
ment which  the  simple  cotter  won,  as  described  by  Burns ; may  you  go 
home  strengthened  in  heart  and  refreshed  in  soul.  [Great  applause.] 


'J'  HE  ^R^ESS  AND  ^ HE  J3aE^ 

Colonel  Donn  Piatt,  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial,  was  called 
upon  to  propose  the  next  toast.  After  a few  humorous  remarks  he 
gave  the  following : 

'•'•'The  Press  and  the  Bar ; The  two  professions  that  of  all  others, 
without  much  love,  have  the  profoundest  respect  for  each  other.” 

Daniel  Dougherty  was  called  upon  to  respond,  which  he  did  as 
follows : 


Response  of  JIaniel  Pougherty, 

Gentlemen  : As  I am  a stranger  to  you  all,  I beg  to  introduce 
myself.  [Laughter.]  I am  Dan  Dougherty.  I am  “a  chiel  amang 
ye  takin’  notes,”  and  if  I happen  to  say  anything,  I beg,  for  God’s 
sake,  that  you  won’t  print  it.  I could  say,  I think,  as  young  Norval 
says : 

“Never  before  stood  I in  such  a presence.” 

I have  heard  it  said  that  there  are  people  who  would  prefer  standing 
before  a park  of  artillery  to  an  audience.  Now  I confess — this  is 
communicated  to  you  confidentially — that  I would  not  care  if  I had 
an  audience  of  a thousand  or  ten  thousand,  but  I vow  I am  the  most 
diffident  child  in  the  world  when  I stand  before  the  men  who  are  the 
abstract  and  brief  chroniclers  of  the  times.  You  are  the  men  not  only 
who  make  the  reputation  of  the  public  men  of  the  country,  but  you  are 
the  men  who  make  the  history  of  the  country. 

I do  not  know  that  I am  expected  to  speak  about  the  bar.  I do  not 
think  that  Mr.  Sumner  spoke  much  about  the  Government  [laughter], 
and  as  he  did  not  speak  much  about  the  Government,  I do  not  think  I 
will  speak  much  about  the  bar.  I can  only  say  that,  so  far  as  the  bar 
is  concerned,  we  are  a band  of  brothers — hrothers-in-law.  [Great 


Hr 


TT 


j-^AF 


If 


REWELL  TO  WASHINGTON  OF 


f.  y.  fc 


Jr  * 


laughter.]  Wo  may  have  our  fights  and  contests  in  court;  but  when 
the  court  adjourns  wo  adjourn  our  differences,  and,  heart  in  heart  and 
hand  in  hand,  'wo  leave  the  court  together.  And,  according  to  the  old 
story,  if  there  is  anybody  to  bo  cut,  it  is,  scissors-like,  not  each  other, 
but  that  which  happens  to  be  between.  [Laughter.] 

Let  uie  give  you  one  piece  of  advice,  and  I won’t  charge  you  any- 
thing for  it — and  if  that  is  not  an  extraordinary  proof  of  what  a Phila- 
delphia lawyer  can  do  I should  like  to  know  it.  [Laughter.]  Let  me 
say  to  you,  gentlemen  of  the  press,  God  bless  you;  for  if  there  is  a man 
in  the  world  who  has  received  unbounded  favors  from  you — I do  not 
mean  you  of  the  nation,  but  I mean  the  Philadelphia  Press — if  there 
is  any  one  else  who  has  been  grateful  in  his  heart  of  hearts  for  kind- 
ness received,  I am  the  man.  And  I say  to  you,  gentlemen  of  the 
press,  no  matter  how  you  may  differ  in  politics,  “ Wide  as  the  poles 
asunder  ” though  you  may  be,  when  you  come  to  leave  politics  aside  and 
be  friends,  be  ye  knit  together  as  a band  of  brothers,  love  each  other  in 
your  hearts,  and  you  will  be  respected  by  all.  [Great  applause.]  That 
is  advice  which  I will  not  charge  you  anything  for.  [Laughter.] 

I have  not  got  a speech  prepared.  Mr.  Piatt  said  he  forgot  the  sen- 
timent. That  was  all  humbug.  [Laughter.]  We  understand  it  at  this 
end  of  the  table.  If  you  supposed  you  could  cheat  us  by  any  such 
dodge  as  that,  you  were  mistaken.  [Laughter.]  It  is  an  Irish  compli- 
ment, but  we  think  that  you  are  not  so  dull  as  you  look  down  there,  and 
therefore  I do  not  know  what  to  say.  If  there  is  an  occasion,  egad,  in 
my  whole  life  when  I would  like  to  make  a speech,  it  is  before  such  men 
as  you  are.  I might  make  my  reputation,  a historic,  national  reputa- 
tion, if  I had  a speech  here  to-night;  but  I have  none.  I never  thought 
of  it.  I thought  this  was  to  be  a time  of  geniality,  a time  for  good 
fellowship,  a time  for  brotherly  love ; and  therefore  I have  no  speech  to 
make.  If  I had  anything  to  say,  gentlemen,  this  is  not  the  place  to  say 
it,  because  if  I let  my  heart  speak  out  to-night,  it  would  well  out  in  the 
deepest  and  heartiest  tones  of  friendship  for  the  man  of  all  the  men  in 
the  world  I love  best.  [Applause.]  There  are  few  among  us  who  have 
not  many  acquaintances ; the  best  of  us  have  few  friends ; but  among 
the  friends  that  I wear,  as  Hamlet  wore  Horatio,  in  my  “ heart  of 
hearts,”  the  first  in  the  list  of  them  is  the  honored  guest  of  you  gentle- 
men here  to-night.  [Great  applause.] 

! As  I said,  I cannot  let  my  heart  speak.  If  it  speaks,  it  speaks 
sacred  to  the  privacy  of  friendship.  When  I was  a boy,  struggling 
tt)  make  my  way  in  life,  without  a friend,  a relative,  or  a parent,  the 
first  man  that  took  me  by  the  hand,  that  welcomed  me  to  his  home, 
that  honored  me  with  his  friendship,  the  first  man  of  all  the  world  was 
John  W.  Forney.  [Great  applause.]  He  had  nothing  to  make  from 
me,  for  I no  revenue  had ; ” no  one  knew  me,  but  he  took  me  by  the 
hand;  he  made  me  his  friend;  and  he,  having  made  me  his  friend,  as 
long  as  God  blesses  me  with  life,  I am  and  ever  shall  be  his.  Aye. 
one  of  the  delights  of  my  life  is  to  be  gathered  with  good  friends 
around  the  festive  board.  I cannot  play  cards.  I cannot,  like  Foote 
of  Mississippi,  hit  a barn-door  with  a pistol  at  ten  paces.  I have  not 
that  accomplishment  of  the  gentleman,  to  ride  a horse.  I cannot  roll 
ten-pins  nor  play  billiards.  The  only  joy  of  my  life  is  when  I shuffle 
business  cares  off  to  meet  friends  at  the  festive  board.  And  the  first 
man  who  ever  welcomed  me  to  his  table ; the  first  who  gave  me  the 
joys  of  the  dinner-party,  was  the  gentleman  whom  you  honor  to-night 
as  your  favorite  guest.  And  when  my  mind  looks  back  upon  the 


many,  the  hundred  happy  hours  I have  passed  at  a hundred  dinner- 
tables,  the  lights,  flashing  baek  concentrate  at  the  hospitable  board  of 
John  W.  Forney,  where  I was  for  the  first  time  a guest.  He  is  the 
gentleman  of  whom,  if  I permitted  myself  to  talk,  egad,  I’d  talk  until 
the 

» • * « morn  In  ru«Hct  mantle  clad, 

Walk*  o’er  the  dew  of  yon  hl?h  eastern  hill." 

And,  therefore,  as  Hamlet  says : “ I’ll  break  our  watch  ” and  take 
my  seat.  God  bless  you,  gentlemen,  for  honoring  my  friend.  [Long- 
continued  applause.] 


"J"'  HE  j^F^ESS  OF  j3HILADELPHIA. 

Geo.  W.  Adams,  Esq.,  of  the  New  York  World,  proposed : 

“ The  Press  of  Philadelphia ; In  securing  the  undivided  labors 
of  Colonel  Forney,  its  gain  is  our  loss.” 

Colonel  Fitzgerald,  of  the  Evening  City  Item,  responded  as 
follows : 


RESPONSE  OF 


pDL.  JH 


Fitzgerald. 


Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  : You  perceive  that  I ant 
much  more  ready  than  my  friend  Dougherty  was,  for  I had  warning 
that  i:  great  expectations  ” were  indulged  on  my  account.  I had 
received  a telegram  from  my  good  friend  Gobright  to  come  here 
“ cocked  and  primed.”  [Laughter.]  I came  here  primed,  but  the 
cocking  has  been  done  since  I arrived.  [Laughter.]  On  my  right 
sits  Mr.  Gobright,  a very  powerful  drinker.  [Laughter.]  On  my 
left  sits  Colonel  Florence,  another  tremendous  swiper  [laughter] ; 
but  these  good  gentlemen,  for  some  reason  or  other  uuknown  to  the 
court,  have  thought  fit  to-night  to  decline  their  grog  and  have  put 
it  all  upon  me.  Here  I am,  gentlemen,  before  you  with  three  times 
the  regular  supply,  and  consequently  seriously  cocked.  [Laughter.] 
I am  in  the  condition  of  the  member  of  Congress  who  knew  no  North, 
no  South,  no  East,  no  West;  and  very  true  for  him.  gentlemen,  for 
he  had  never  studied  his  geography  nor  anything  else.  [Laughter.] 

But  seriously,  gentlemen,  when  the  kind  invitation  came  to  sit 
at  your  festive  board,  I embraced  it  with  alacrity,  with  a secret  joy. 
because  I felt  anxious  to  witness  the  compliment  that  should  be  paid 
to  my  very  dear  friend,  my  friend  of  nearly  thirty  years’  standing, 
oue  from  whom  I have  received  much  kindness,  great  kindness, 
publicly  and  privately.  And  besides,  gentlemen.  I felt  it  a privilege 
to  be  with  what  I call  the  master  minds  of  the  Press  of  this  eountry. 
the  brilliant  men,  the  ready  men,  the  minute  men,  the  men  who  can 
work  all  day  and  all  night,  and  still  be  fresh  in  the  morning.  I there- 
fore thank  you  for  having,  in  your  great  kiuduess.  remembered  me. 

What  shall  I say,  gentlemen,  about  the  Press?  I can  only  say 
this : That,  as  an  institution,  it  has  kept  pace  with  the  great,  the 
wonderful  progress  of  the  times.  In  no  siugle  seuse  have  we  fallen 
behind  any  of  the  professions.  Take  the  law.  medicine,  any  of  the 
professions,  and  you  will  find  that  the  Press  is  still  on  the  front  line 
of  them  all.  See.  gentlemen,  what  newspapers  we  have;  take  the 


F 


AREWELL  TO  WASHINGTON  OF 


/’  F'  f c 


newspapers  of  New  York,  Boston,  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Washington, 
Philadelphia,  and  nowhere  in  the  world  do  you  find  better  newspapers. 
And,  what  is  most  remarkable,  you  find  here  in  your  very  midst'- here 
in  the  person  of  your  honored  guest  to-night,  one  of  the  brighest 
illustrations  of  the  power  of  this  Press — a poor  boy,  with  little  educa- 
tion, with  poor  parents,  put  into  a printing-office,  making  his  way  up 
from  the  case  to  the  press,  from  the  press  to  the  foremanship,  from 
the  foremanship  to  the  ownership,  from  the  ownership  to  the  editor- 
ship, and  then  to  become  a power  in  a county  that  is  almost  a princi- 
pality; translated  then  to  the  great  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  constantly 
betwixt  that  great  city  and  Washington,  to  become  one  of  the  great 
men  of  the  country — a man,  gentlemen,  who  could  make  small  men 
great,  and  who,  when  wronged,  could  show  that  he  could  make  those 
who  thought  themselves  great,  very  small  indeed.  [Great  applause.] 
There  is  an  example  to  the  young  men  who  sit  around  this  board 
to-night.  Let  them  feel  its  influence  as  I felt  it  thirty  years  ago, 
when  he  took  me,  a boy,  by  the  hand  and  said,  “ You  will  rise ; they 
can’t  keep  you  down ;”  and  by  hard  work  and  by  industry  I have 
succeeded  in  a small  way,  thank  God. 

Gentlemen,  I feel  another  pleasure  in  being  here  to-night,  because 
I see  at  this  board  one  whom  I have  learned  to  respect  and  love ; one 
who  speaks  for  this  great  nation  of  ours,  and  whose  heart  throbs  with 
the  heart  throb  of  that  nation ; one  who  is  here  to-night,  gentlemen, 
at  your  board  by  the  sacred  right  of  scholarship;  one  who  stands 
before  this  nation  honored,  respected,  loved ; one  who  has  “ a voice 
potential,”  “ double  as  the  Duke’s.”  [Great  applause  and  cheers  for 
“ Sumner.”] 

The  Chairman  having  called  upon  Mr.  George  Alfred  Townsend, 
that  gentleman  responded  as  follows  : 


jSPEECH  OF  jjrEOF^GE  ^LFRED  JoWNSEND. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  : I seldom  attend  Press  dinners, 
because  they  generally  appear  to  me  to  be  occasions  for  making  ami- 
cable resolutions  which  will  never  be  kept.  In  any  pursuit  where 
vanity  is  an  equal  component  with  labor,  emulations  are  sure  to  be 
begotten  which  in  time  become  animosities,  and  to  gentlemen  en- 
dowed with  our  arbitrary  power  to  turn  a sentence  and  spread  it 
broadcast,  a newspaper  animosity  is  something  to  be  avoided.  I do 
not  know  that  we  will  ever  be  long-suffering  and  charitable  to  each 
other,  for  the  newspaper  profession  in  its  best  aspects  is  a sort  of 
literature,  and  if  we  look  back  over  the  history  of  art  and  literature 
we  will  find  that  their  bickerings  are  nearly  as  conspicuous  as  their 
achievements. 

The  next  generation  looks  charitably  upon  the  wranglings  of 
artistic  people,  and  measures  their  lives  by  their  professional  results. 
I feel  sometimes  a consciousness  as  I go  about  the  streets  and  look 
down  upon  the  National  Congress,  and  feel  that  strong  repulsion  or 
affinity  inseparable  from  our  craft,  that  I and  my  compeers  live  only 
in  the  barbaric  age  of  Journalism,  that  we  are  the  vanguard  of  a 
great  profession  which  shall  expand  with  this  Republic — sure  to  be 
under  its  institutions  the  greatest  and  most  active  fermentation  of 
man  ever  beheld — to  write  for  the  greatest  reading  population,  which 
will  thereby  demand  the  finest  type  of  journalists,  and  after  we  have 


passed  away,  we  and  present  parties,  another  generation  with  more 
civilization  shall  arise  who  will  expect  in  our  avocation  the  statesman 
and  the  teacher. 

I had  wished  to  come  to  this  dinner  to-night,  because  the  man  in 
whose  honor  it  is  given  was  one  of  my  earliest  employers.  I knew 
him  as  long  ago  as  any  young  man  sitting  here.  In  1859  I was  a 
reporter  upon  his  paper,  The  Press,  at  Philadelphia,  and  I can  say 
that,  as  I recall  the  long  series  of  newspaper  proprietors  in  whose 
service  I have  been,  Colonel  Forney  has  been,  on  the  whole,  one  of 
the  most  magnanimous,  considerate,  and  encouraging  whom  I have 
ever  met.  We  all  differ  somewhat  as  to  the  rank  we  should  seek  to 
occupy,  and  the  service  we  should  seek  to  do;  but  saying  nothing 
about  this  mere  matter  of  taste,  to-night’s  gathering  shows  that  we 
part  from  our  guest  with  decided  unanimity  of  regret.  This  is  the 
most  general  association  of  working  newspaper  men  ever  collected 
together  in  Washington  at  one  entertainment.  A few  are  missing — 
some  from  domestic  motives;  others,  I grieve  to  say,  because  they 
could  not  bear  the  expense  of  meeting  here,  for  we  all  know  that 
the  reward  of  writing  for  the  public  is  too  frequently  poor  indeed. 

Our  guest  leaves  us  to-night,  after  a very  long  residence  in  this  city 
as  writer,  contributor,  editor  and  proprietor,  satisfied  that  his  task 
here  is  done,  and  that,  compared  to  his  better  appreciated  work  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  it  had  better  be  quitted.  But  can  we  say 
he  has  not  been  successful  in  our  avocation  ? 

What  is  success?  We  are  in  the  habit  of  measuring  success  by 
the  net  profits  in  gold  of  a laborious  life.  When  one  dies  leaving 
behind  him  a goodly  sum,  we  say  he  was  successful.  If  he  die 
poor  though  powerful,  we  say  his  life,  on  the  whole,  was  not  suc- 
cessful. And  when  we  see  the  sons  of  the  rich  squandering  their 
inheritance,  how  fleeting,  above  all  things,  is  the  accomplished  value 
of  a gainful  life,  we  are  apt  to  remark  that,  on  the  whole,  mouey  is 
a doubtful  measure  of  success. 

Colonel  Forney  has  been  the  editor  of  the  organ  at  the  Capital 
of  the  most  potential  Administration  ever  known  under  popular 
government.  This  city  was  the  base  of  operations  for  four  years  of  a 
mighty  series  of  armies  which  encamped  about  these  hills,  and  pierced 
the  neighboring  State  to  distant  battle-fields,  cheered  in  their  rear 
most  promptly  by  the  Washington  Chronicle.  Into  that  paper  ten 
thousand  items  entered,  whose  authorship  was  as  various  as  it  was 
representative  of  all  the  elements  which  made  the  great  State  of  our 
great  time.  The  President  suggested  many  items  there.  The  Foreign 
Secretary  ground  many  an  axe  there.  The  Home  Secretary  used 
those  columns  to  put  himself  in  communication  with  the  intelligence 
which  he  most  demanded  to  carry  out  his  projects. 

It  was  the  business  of  that  paper  to  account  for  defeat,  and  to 
exaggerate  victory.  It  was  a part  of  the  army — a column  in  the  war. 
It  always  went  forward,  and  until  now  it  has  never  ‘ retreated.  It 
enlivened  the  camps  with  news  of  home,  and  even  we  war  correspond- 
ents held  it  like  a family  friend  when  following  the  armies  into  strange 
old  counties  and  sequestered  nooks,  which,  by  the  arbitration  of  war, 
became  historic  battle-fields.  Filled  as  it  is  with  the  chronicles  of 
the  leading  men,  who  were  opposing  slavery  aud  rebellion,  as  full  of 
suggestiveness  as  is  an  egg  full  of  meat,  the  paper  of  all  papers  most 
nearly  in  communication  with  the  Republican  party,  Forney’s  Chronicle 
is  stowed  away  in  every  library  of  the  land,  and,  turning  over  its  files 


( P 


F 


AREWELL  TO  WASHINGTON  OF 


/■  F fc 


in  the  future,  the  writer  of  history  and  the  student  of  human  nature, 
observing  whose  privilege  it  was  to  edit  so  important  a paper  in  so 
momentous  a time,  will  never  pauso  to  ask  the  question  we  ask  to- 
night, Has  Colonel  Forney’s  Washington  career  been  anything  else 
than  a success  ? 

We  may  differ  among  ourselves,  as  I have  said,  about  the  editor’s 
province,  his  due  relations  to  government,  the  degree  of  his  inde- 
pendence, how  much  ho  should  serve  his  profession,  and  how 'much 
his  party;  but  if,  as  I apprehend,  the  verdict  of  the  future  will  differ 
as  much  upon  this  matter  as  do  we,  still  this  paper  and  this  man 
belong  emphatically  to  the  transient  period  when  the  State  put  by  its 
superstitions  and  its  idolatries,  and  mounted  to  the  highest  level  of 
humanity,  of  homogeneity,  and  of  country. 

Why  should  he,  then,  pass  from  among  us  with  this  spontaneous 
and  complete  testimonial  of  the  personal  esteem  of  his  associates,  with 
the  record  which  his  paper  has  made  upon  the  first  city  in  the  first 
country  of  our  hemisphere,  and  not  be  considered  as  a man  most 
successful  ? He  has  run  his  course ; he  has  finished  his  career  here ; 
the  worst  that  can  be  said  of  him  is,  that  his  work  is  done.  If  this 
is  failure,  all  accomplished  careers  are  failures.  If  this  is  success,  our 
guest  quits  Washington  a successful  man. 

In  response  to  the  Chair  who  offered  a toast  to  the  European  Press 
and  called  upon  Mr.  L.  Q.  Washington  as  the  correspondent  of  the 
Loudon  Daily  Telegraph  to  respond,  that  gentleman  said  : 

jSpEECH  of  J_.  Washington, 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  : I had  not  expected  to  be 
called  on  to  address  you  to-night;  and  for  other  reasons,  besides  the 
state  of  my  health,  I would  much  have  preferred  to  be  a silent  auditor 
of  the  speeches  of  others,  and  especially  such  as  that  of  the  gentleman 
who  just  preceded  me  (Mr.  Townsend),  to  whose  eloquent  remarks  upon 
the  dignity  and  growing  duties  of  our  profession  of  journalism,  I have 
listened  with  so  much  pleasure  and  such  hearty  concurrence.  Mr. 
President,  my  relation  as  a correspondent  of  a great  English  Daily  has 
naturally  led  me  often  to  compare  together  the  distinctive  features  of  the 
English  and  American  Press.  In  the  general  management  of  a news- 
paper ; in  variety  and  fullness  of  the  topics  presented ; in  the  activity, 
intelligence  and  enterprise  displayed  in  obtaining  and  publishing  news, 
in  the  wonderful  tact  shown  in  adapting  journalism  to  the  public 
demands,  thus  making  the  daily  paper  a very  mirror  aud  body  of  the 
times  in  which  we  live;  I think  there  is  no  comparison  between  the 
English  and  the  American  Press.  The  comparison  is  all  in  favor  of 
our  own.  But  when  I come  to  the  editorial  columns  of  the  two  I fear 
the  palm  must  be  given  to  the  English  Press.  I refer  not  merely  to 
the  superior  finish  and  style  of  the  editorial  articles — for  in  that  there 
is  a great  improvement  in  the  American  Press — nor  yet  to  the  fullness 
and  breadth  of  discussion  displayed  in  the  English  journals,  but  to  the 
temper  in  which  these  editorials  are  framed,  the  general  impartiality, 
fairness  and  candor  exhibited  in  discussion,  the  absence  of  offensive 
personalities,  the  charity  shown  to  opposing  opinion  and  the  liberality 
toward  political  opponents.  In  all  these  things  I fear  they  have  as  yet 
greatly  the  advantage  of  us.  . Gentlemen,  ours  is  a hard  life.  We 
may  have,  we  do  have  a great  power,  and  with  it,  too,  a great  respon- 
sibility; we  may,  some  of  us,  perhaps,  achieve  fame  and  occupy  a 


space  in  the  public  eye;  there  is  something,  indeed,  of  solace  to 
human  pride  in  all  this;  but  for  all  of  us  who  are  laborers  and  writers 
the  pecuniary  rewards  of  journalism  arc  very  meagre ; our  work  is 
hard  and  unremitting;  we  are  cut  off  from  many  pleasures  and  enjoy- 
ments which  are  open  to  other  professions;  in  short,  our  life  is  always 
a hard  and  often,  for  many,  a bitter  one.  Now,  we  of  all  men  need 
to  cherish  an  earnest  sympathy  with  each  other ; we  need  not  only  the 
amenities  and  charities  of  journalism,  but  to  extend  to  our  brother 
journalists  a kind,  personal  appreciation  and  often  a helping  hand.  It 
is  especially  in  this  relation,  and  recognizing  this  duty  of  journalists 
to  one  another,  that  I am  glad  to  be  here  to-night  to  join  in  this  warm 
tribute  to  our  guest — whom  though  thoroughly  opposed  to  in  politics. 
I find  one  who  has  constantly  appreciated  this  duty — one  who  has 
respected  the  amenities  of  journalism,  and  in  his  long  and  able  career 
been  conspicuous  for  his  many  acts  of  personal  courtesy,  kindness  and 
liberality  toward  other  members  of  the  Press  without  respect  to  their 
political  opinions.  It  is  to  such  acts  as  these  that  I am  happy  and 
prompt  to  give  my  hearty  recognition  here  to-night. 

One  word  more,  gentlemen.  As  I have  been  referred  to  specially 
by  reason  of  my  connection  as  correspondent  for  a British  journal  I 
may  be  allowed  to  say  something  very  briefly  in  reference  to  the 
political  relations  between  these  two  great  nations — England  and 
America — over  which  there  has  been,  and  is  now,  a cloud.  I am  able 
to  say  most  positively,  from  my  frequent  observation  of  the  English 
Press  and  of  English  opinion,  that  it  is  the  constant,  the  earnest  wish 
of  the  British  Press  and  people  to  cultivate  and  perpetuate  the  closest, 
the  most  enduring  friendship  and  alliance  with  this  great  country. 
They  have  not,  I am  certain,  any  wish  inconsistent  with  its  peace, 
progress,  unity  and  development  as  a great  Kepublic.  The  English 
journal  which  I represent  in  this  country  has  a much  larger  circulation 
than  any  Daily  published  in  England — or,  I believe,  in  the  world — 
reaching  all  classes  of  the  British  population ; and  not  only  are  its 
utterances  always  most  cordial  and  respectful  to  the  American  Govern- 
ment and  people;  but  I may,  without  impropriety,  say,  that  in  dis- 
charging my  own  duties  as  a correspondent,  I have  reason  to  believe 
that  I render  them  most  acceptably  to  the  readers  of  that  journal  by 
avoiding  everything  tending  to  irritate  and  estrange,  and  by  omitting 
no  opportunity  to  promote  a good  will  and  a good  understanding 
between  the  two  peoples.  And  this  is  but  a type  of  the  British 
Press  of  to-day.  I trust,  gentlemen,  that  you  will  bear  these  facts  in 
mind  when  you  shall  come  to  speak  of  the  questions  at  issue  between 
the  two  countries,  and  that  you  also  may  use  your  own  great  power 
over  public  opinion  in  the  interests  of  a firm,  a cordial  and  a lasting 
peace  between  these  two  great  nations  upon  whom  the  cause  of  civili- 
zation so  largely  depends.  I thank  you.  gentlemen,  for  your  kind 
attention. 

W.  P.  Copeland  Esq.,  of  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  was 
called  upon  by  the  Chairman  and  said  : 


Speech  of 


f • f ■ P 


.OPELAND, 


Gentlemen  : I would  not  miss  the  opportunity  to  thank  our 

distinguished  Chairman  for  his  coiuplimeut  to  me.  I would  write  you 
a blood-curdling  essay  regarding  the  tariff  on  salt.  jute,  butts,  coal, 
alkekengi  or  Bessemer  steel ; would  discuss  the  funding  bill  or  the  - 1 J 




v 


li 


n 


different  plans  of  resuming  specie  payments,  or  the  difference  between 
the  surveyed  capacity  and  taxable  production  of  a mash-tub  or  still ; 
but  I can’t  make  a speech.  Young  in  years  and  in  the  profession,  I 
feel  that  the  listener’s  part  is  the  graceful  r61e  for  me  when  surrounded 
by  so  many  talented  and  experienced  journalists. 

We  meet  to-night  to  express  our  appreciation  of  the  past  efforts  of 
our  distinguished  frater,  Colonel  John  W.  Forney,  and  our  regret  that 
he  is  so  soon  to  leave  us  and  exert  his  abilities  in  a new  field.  My 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Forney  commenced  at  a recent  date,  in  fact, 
though  I have  known  him  by  sight  since  early  boyhood,  yet  even  now 
our  associations  do  not  partake  of  that  close  relation  which  should  knit 
friends  in  the  same  profession.  That  we  have  not  been  well  acquainted 
has  been  my  misfortune,  and  not  his  fault.  I have  looked  in  Colonel 
Forney’s  eye  and  thought  I discovered  that  he  is  soul  and  heart  from 
head  to  foot,  that  his  heart  wells  out  in  charity  and  friendship  for  all 
his  fellow  men.  I have  heard  that  he  encouraged  and  pointed  young 
journalists  to  a brilliant  future.  I have  heard  of  his  many  good  quali- 
ties and  thought  I saw  them  beaming  forth  in  every  feature  of  his  face. 
His  life  has  been  checkered ; he  has  changed  from  one  political  party 
to  another,  but  he  has  always  preserved  an  unalterable  attachment  to 
personal  friends.  As  the  finger  of  time  shall  point  to  the  flight  of 
hours  and  years,  I hope  he  may  in  the  retrospect  observe  a scintilla  in 
his  and  our  lives  and  recognize  it  as  this  occasion.  I shall  always  look 
upon  it  as  a bright  era  in  the  profession  of  Washington  journalism, 
because  we  meet  to  show  you  that  we  are  all  brothers  in  the  profession, 
and  that  no  party  division  or  private  pique  between  ourselves  interferes 
with  the  universal  desire  to  express  our  hearty  and  substantial  wishes 
for  your  future  welfare. 

In  response  to  a complimentary  toast  to  M.  W.  Barr,  of  the 
Southern  Associated  Press,  that  gentleman  paid  the  following  tribute 
to  the  lamented  George  D.  Prentice,  of  the  Louisville  Journal: 


Mr.  Prentice  was  a laboring  mau.  However  like  flashes  of  light- 
ning his  paragraphs  may  have  stricken  the  readers  of  his  journal  with 
convulsions  of  laughter,  or  of  sobs,  his  inspirations  came  to  him  as  the 
peep  of  day  comes  to  us.  Rosy-Fingered  Morning,  the  Mother  of 
Dawn  and  himself  were  equally  busy;  the  one  clearing  the  way  for 
the  sun,  the  other  for  the  truth.  The  suns,  for  which  Aurora  clears 
the  way,  journey  but  for  a day;  the  truths,  for  which  our  leader 
smoothed  the  path,  travel  forever. 

Mr.  Prentice  sometimes  used  stimulants  to  drown  thick-coming 
fancies.  To  have  clad  each  ideal  child  of  his  fertile  brain  in  letters 
of  gold,  ornamented  with  punctuation  points  of  diamonds,  would  have 
exhausted  the  fancy  treasures  of  a generation. 

The  hand  of  Mr.  Prentice  was  always  empty,  because  it  was  always 
open-.  His  giving  was  a just  equinox  to  his  getting.  The  one  was 
as  long  as  the  other. 

Mr.  Prentice  was  a brave  man.  Except  his  terrible  brain  shafts, 
which  had  world-wide  range,  he  carried  no  concealed  weapons.  He 
never  fought  a duel.  He  had  many  street  and  office  rencounters,  in 
which  he  was  never  the  aggressor ; always  victorious ; but  this  gener- 
ous man  never  pushed  victory  beyond  present  safety.  An  aggrieved 
person  traveled  many  miles  to  kill  Mr.  Prentice.  After  a moment’s 
struggle  the  knee  of  Mr.  Prentice  was  upon  the  breast  of  his  armed 
assailant.  An  eager-edged  knife  was  thrust  into  his  hand,  and  one  of 
Kentucky’s  chivalric  gentlemen  cried  “ cut  the  scoundrel’s  throat  1” 
Mr.  Prentice  cast  the  knife  aside ; he  would  not  strike  a prostrate  foe. 

We  who  knew  the  gentle  nature  of  Mr.  Prentice  are  glad  that 
notwithstanding  his  high  sense  of  personal  dignity,  and  his  readiness 
at  all  times  to  maintain  it,  he  has  been  spared  the  remorse  of  having 
taken  human  life. 

George  D.  Prentice  for  the  present  is  lost  to  us ; but  Elysian  lyres 
have  sounded,  for  him,  the  coming  chorus,  and  Virgil,  and  Milton,  and 
Shakespeare,  and  Saul  of  Tarsus,  have  welcomed  his  thought-wrought 
soul. 


jSPEECH  OF  JVL  J3arr. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  : Recall  to  your  minds  any  old 
soldier  of  the  Little  Corporal.  They  are  nearly  all  gone ; but  most  of 
us  have  come  in  contact  with  them  as  teachers  of  fencing,  or  of  boxing, 
or  other  of  the  minor  arts  of  war.  Who  among  us  has  been  so  heed- 
less of  his  earlier  lessons  in  human  nature  as  to  have  forgotten  the 
tearful  eye,  fierce  face  and  erect  figure  of  these  veterans — so  stiff  as  to 
cause  apprehension  that  their  earnestness  would  make  their  old  wounds 
bleed  afresh,  when  they  sputtered,  in  half  a dozen  languages  at  once, 
their  adoration  of  him  who  died  at  St.  Helena? 

There  are  heroes  of  peace  as  well  as  of  war ; and  those  who  served 
in  the  journalistic  columns  which  George  D.  Prentice  led,  may  well 
allow  themselves  to  seem  absurdly  in  earnest  when  they  speak  of  their 
leader.  Truth  scoffs  at  the  feebleness  of  hyperbole  when  the  most 
gifted  of  the  followers  of  Mr.  Prentice  attempt  to  portray  his  great- 
ness. If  his  panegyric  is  ever  uttered  it  must  come  from  one  of  his 
fellow  leaders  of  inky  columns;  possibly  from  the  lips  of  our  guest. 
His  followers  find  their  level  in  lower  flights ; but  one  of  them  hopes 
to  beguile  you  of  a smile,  possibly  of  a tear,  by  brief  allusion  to  his 
more  material  life.  He  has  no  hope  of  showing  to  you  his  love  for 
his  loving  patron. 


jSPEECH  OF  Jl,  jj.  j'ilNTON. 

Mr.  Chairman  : In  responding,  sir,  to  the  sentiment  offered  by 
you,  I avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  express  the  pleasure  afforded 
by  this  gathering  of  journalists  in  honor  of  so  distinguished  a member 
of  our  profession.  In  fifteen  years  of  professional  occupation  as  a 
reporter,  editor  and  correspondent,  much  of  it  in  the  latter  field  and 
under  a great  variety  of  circumstances,  I do  not  remember  a single 
instance  before  of  a journalist  being  honored  by  his  brethren,  simply 
and  only  because  he  was  distinguished  in  his  profession,  and  had  honored 
them  by  making  it  respected.  I have  known  editors  banqueted  and 
feted  because  they  had  become  something  else — Congressman,  Senator, 
Governor,  or  it  may  even  be,  a A' ice-President.  We  love  our  profes- 
sion so  much  that  most  of  us  appear  delighted  to  get  out  of  it.  I think, 
sir,  that  this  gathering — and  looking  around  me  I may  call  it  a notable 
one — we  are  all  of  us  in  the  habit  of  taking  notes,  always  discountable 
and  never  protested.  I say  this  notable  gathering  to-night  marks  a 
new  era  in  our  professional  lives.  Here,  in  this  “ whispering  gallery  ” 
of  the  Nation,  we,  whose  faintest  utterances  may  often  quicken  the  pulse 
of  forty  million  Americans,  ought  at  least  to  possess  as  much  good 
fellowship  as  will  make  each  stand  up  for  the  others’  professional  repu-  - 1 

-4- 


tation.  Agreeing  with  every  word  said  by  our  friend  “ Gath,”  of  the 
Western  “ Thunderer  ” — the  Chicago  Tribune — I join  with  all  in  doing 
honor  to  our  guest.  I am  sure,  sir,  that  lie  feels  a just  pride  in  the  one 
significant  fact,  that  our  greeting  to  him  to-night  is  not  based  npon  new- 
won  success  of  place  and  honor  on  his  part,  but  in  token  of  the  appre- 
ciation we  have  for  his  great  abilities  as  a journalist,  and  especially  of 
those  traits  of  kindly  fair  dealing  with  his  professional  brothers,  which 
make  us  all  esteem  so  highly  the  name  of  John  W.  Forney.  . 

Sir,  you  have  done  me  the  honor  to  link  my  name,  in  your  toast, 
with  that  of  Kansas — a State  whose  territorial  infancy  was  rocked  in  the 
cradle  of  civil  convulsion,  and  whose  early  manhood  has  been  cast  amid 
the  perils  of  battle  and  the  shock  of  war’s  utmost  desolation.  It  would 
be  ungracious  for  me  to  make  remarks  of  a partisan  character,  and  my 
reference  now  is  only,  sir,  for  the  purpose  of  recalling  a marked  incident 
in  the  editorial  career  of  our  guest — one  in  which  I am  sure  he  takes 
an  liouorable  pride.  I think  John  W.  Forney  was  the  first  leading 
political  and  partisan  editor  in  America,  bold  and  brave  enough,  to  face 
the  scorn  of  party  associates ; the  loss  of  a life  of  endeavor,  and  resist, 
even  to  the  verge  of  personal  ruin,  the  domination  of  party  rule  and  the 
dictation  of  its  leaders.  Sir,  as  to  political  merits  or  otherwise,  I say 
not  one  word;  but,  in  the  abandonment  of  the  journalistic  leadership  of 


a party,  to  preserve  and  defend  his  own  intellectual  integrity  and  aid 
the  redemption  of  pledges  which  appeared  to  affect  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  a people,  as  John  W.  Forney  then  did,  when  in  the  well- 
known  Lccompton  struggle  he  withdrew  from  the  Democratic  organ  and 
started  that  Press  which  has  become  so  prominent  and  useful  under  In- 
direction, our  guest  gave  to  the  people  a sterling  proof  of  the  power  of 
our  profession,  and  to  us,  its  followers,  a vindication  of  its  true  position, 
capacity  and  influence,  which  has  since  had  a marked  result.  As  a 
journalist  I can  look  back  to  the  effort  of  Col.  Forney,  as  the  first 
marked  incident  in  the  recognized  career  of  usefulness  and  honor  which 
waits  upon  the  truly  independent  journalist  of  this  country.  I trust, 
sir,  that  in  closing,  I may  not  be  deemed  as  overstepping  the  bounds  of 
that  propriety  which  marks  the  limits  of  reference  on  occasions  like  this, 
if  I express,  to  our  guest,  the  gratitude  which  I in  common  with  the 
great  body  of  the  then  struggling  Free  State  citizens  of  Kansas — 
sharing  alike  in  the  preluding  strife  of  the  greater  struggle — felt  toward 
Col.  Forney  for  the  services  he  rendered  to  them  and  their  cause  at  the 
period  I have  alluded  to.  It  was  a great  service,  generously  rendered, 
and  the  annals  of  the  Times  mast,  and  do,  recognize  its  essential 
importance. 


yj  O f\_D  S F F^O  I 


B S E N T. 


\VbXhe  Chairman  read  the  following  letters  and  telegrams  from 
gentlemen  who  had  been  invited,  but  were  unable  to  attend 
the  dinner  : 

J-ETTER  FROM.  jdON.  j\A.ORTON  JAcJA ICHAEL, 

Office  of  North  American  and  U.  S.  Gazette,  | 
No.  132  South  Third  Street.  ) 

Philadelphia,  January  25,  1871. 

Dear  Sir  : If  it  were  in  my  power  to  attend  the  dinner  at  Wash- 
ington on  Saturday,  to  which  you  have  been  instructed  to  invite  me, 
it  would  give  me  pleasure  to  do  so ; but  I made  engagements  which 
will  require  my  presence  here  on  that  day. 

My  acquaintance  with  Colonel  Forney  extends  back  over  so  many 
years  that  I can  hardly  fix  the  date  of  its  commencement,  and  in  all 
that  time  our  relations  have  been  cordial  and  intimate.  There  were 
frequent  periods  when  we  essentially  represented  widely  differing 
opinions  and  interests — periods  of  great  heat  and  excitement,  but 
amid  all  the  clash  and  struggle  of  newspaper  controversy  our  personal 
intercourse  was  never  disturbed  by  any  unkind  feeling.  Whatever  I 
may  have  thought  of  his  creed  as  a politician,  or  his  utterances  as  an 
editor,  I always  esteemed  the  man,  because  I knew  him  to  be  earnest, 
sincere,  generous,  and  affectionate;  and  if  I could  be  with  you  I 
should  be  glad  to  say  as  much  in  the  presence  of  the  “ journalists  at 
the  National  Capital,”  who,  to  their  own  honor  not  less  than  to  his 
praise,  propose  to  entertaiu  him,  where,  as  one  of  their  calling,  he  has 
. labored  so  long  and  so  faithfully.  With  my  best  respects  to  your 
colleagues,  I am  Very  truly  yours, 

J.  Macfarland,  Esq.  Morton  McMichael. 


j-ETTER  FROM  pWIN  J' ORREST. 

Washington  Citt,  January  2G,  1871. 

Dear  Forney:  When  I received  your  letter  of  the  17th  inst., 
asking  me  to  be  present  at  the  dinner  to  be  given  in  your  honor  by 
your  friends  of  the  Press  in  this  city,  on  Saturday  next,  I felt  I should 
be  able  to  be  one  of  the  guests,  although  a prior  engagement  in  Phila- 
delphia for  the  same  day  had  been  made,  and  which  I hoped  readily  to 
postpone ; but  I find  now  it  must  be  met  at  the  appointed  time,  and  I 
shall  be  deprived  the  pleasure  of  .witnessing  the  heartfelt  homage  you 
will  enjoy  amid  the  congratulations  and  kind  wishes  of  your  steadfast 
friends.  Such  festive  occasions  widen  the  field  of  our  humanities,  and 
to  men  of  enlarged  sympathies,  whose  hearts,  like  your  own,  sadden 
with  the  sorrows  and  exult  in  the  triumphs  of  their  frieuds,  reveal  the 
intensest  gratification.  May  God  bless  you. 


Colonel  John  W.  Forney. 


Edwin  Forrest. 


JELEGRAM  FROM  pR.  JA  ACKENZIE. 

Philadelphia,  January  28, 1871. 

John  W.  Forney  : With  my  usual  luck  I have  missed  the  train. 
Delayed  by  city  passenger  cars,  taken  off  the  line  ou  account  of  frost. 

R.  S.  Mackenzie. 

The  reading  of  the  above  was  received  with  roars  of  laughter. 

The  geutlemen  present  were  invited  by  Colonel  Forney,  through 
Major  Poore,  the  chairman,  to  meet  him  at  his  rooms,  on  Capitol  Hill, 
next  Monday  evening.  At  a late  hour  the  compauy  separated,  with 
cheers  for  the  guest  of  the  evening. 

M 


13 


/Sr 

( v 


harewell  to  Washington  of 


1-W  fc 


p O U I\T  I 


p.  E C I P F^O  GATED. 


fj n the  evening  of  Monday,  January  30th  inst.,  Colonel  Forney’s 
newspaper  associates  and  other  personal  friends  assembled  in 
3 numbers  at  his  residence,  No.  201  New  Jersey  Avenue, 
and  were  cordially  received  and  sumptuously  entertained  by  him. 
Representatives  of  the  Press  from  nearly  all  the  cities  of  the  Union 
were  present,  and  numerous  members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  Cabinet  ministers  and  citizens  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  participated. 


j-fON.  ^ILLIAM  J).  JCELLEY, 

On  the  part  of  the  Pennsylvanians  in  Congress,  bade  an  affectionate 
farewell  to  Colonel  Forney,  and  referred  with  much  feeling  to  the  many 
happy  hours  they  had  spent  under  this  hospitable  roof.  These  rooms, 
said  the  Judge,  were  the  headquarters  of  the  loyal  men  during  the 
war.  Here  we  gathered  to  discuss  measures  and  men.  Here,  after 
our  toil  in  yonder  marble  Capitol,  we  communed  in  confidential  and 
social  intercourse,  framed  our  plans,  made  acquaintances,  cemented 
friendships,  and  exchanged  opinions.  In  missing  our  host  from  these 
well-known  and  familiar  quarters,  we  miss  one  whose  peculiar  qualities 


pHE  Republicans 

jpr  Tuesday  evening,  January  31st,  1871,  the  Republicans  of 
the  District  received  Colonel  Forney  at  Wormley’s,  corner  of 
Fifteenth  and  H streets.  In  accordance  with  printed  invita- 
tions many  distinguished  gentlemen,  in  and  out  of  Congress,  partici- 
pated. The  District  Republicans  were  composed,  in  a large  degree,  of 
colored  men.  When  the  Colonel  entered  the  room,  which  he  found 
densely  crowded,  he  was  affectionately  greeted  by 


jIohn  JVL,  J^A 


psq., 


Vs) 




Professor  of  Howard  Law  University,  in  an  address  of  unusual  force 
and  feeling.  Mr.  Langston  hailed  their  guest  as  one  who  had,  from 
the  beginning  -of  the  great  struggle,  never  swerved  nor  faltered  in  his 
defense  of  human  rights.  While  many  a heart  quailed  Colonel  Forney 
had  stood  firm.  Every  measure  intended  for  the  elevation  and  im- 
provement of  the  race,  so  long  oppressed,  received  his  instant  and 
persistent  support.  The  columns  of  The  Chronicle  are  filled  with 
his  appeals  and  his  arguments.  The  rostrum  rung  with  his  noble 
logic  and  impassioned  exhortations.  When  emancipation  was  debated 


can  never  be  replaced.  His  fidelity  to  our  cause,  his  disinterestedness, 
his  unceasing  labors  were  unequaled  anywhere  in  this  country.  Re- 
ceiving company,  writing  editorials  for  the  Chronicle  and  The  Press, 
making  speeches,  visiting  the  departments  to  aid  those  who  were  here 
friendless  and  alone,  and  raising  the  spirits  of  the  people  in  the  darkest 
hour,  he  filled  out  more  than  twelve  years  of  hard,  incessant,  yet 
cheerful  toil,  and  he  goes  back  to  Pennsylvania  to  give  his  whole  time 
to  the  great  Journal  of  which  he  was  the  founder,  and  is  the  editor 
and  proprietor.  I need  not  say  we  part  from  our  dear  friend  with 
great  regret,  and  just  at  a period  when  he  is  most  needed  at  this  great 
political  centre.  I believe  that  the  Administration  commits  a cardinal 
blunder  in  allowing  him  to  depart.  If  he  could  stay  here  he  would 
be  of  more  benefit  in  healing  our  divisions  and  cementing  our  organi- 
zation than  any  other  man  in  the  Union.  But  let  us  Pennsylvanians 
feel  that  if  we  lose  him  from  Washington  we  secure  him'  for  Phil- 
adelphia. 


? 


rOLONEL 


Jmdf^ney 


Replied  briefly,  and  with  much  emotion,  to  Judge  Kelley’s  hearty  and 
eloquent  address.  The  company  remained  till  long  after  midnight. 


OF  THE 


P I S T HJ  C T . 


as  the  only  real  solution  of  the  rebellion;  when  the  arming  of  the 
colored  man  terrified  the  souls  of  fearful  adversaries ; when  the  ballot 
became  the  equitable  sequence  of  the  use  of  the  bayonet;  when  the 
right  to  hold  office  and  to  sit  upon  juries  followed  as  the  inevitable 
results  of  these  other  franchises,  John  W.  Forney’s  voice  and  pen 
hastened  the  consummation  of  measures  which  now  stand  among  the 
irreversible  and  the  grandest  acts  of  Justice  and  of  Law. 

Professor  Langston  bade  him  an  affectionate  farewell  in  the  name 
of  the  Republicans  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  who  parted  from  their 
champion  and  their  friend  with  a sorrow  all  the  more  sincere,  because 
they  can  never  find  a substitute  for  one  who  was  always  the  peace- 
maker in  the  midst  of  their  dissensions ; who  never  allowed  a single 
personal  interest  of  his  own  to  intervene;  who  counseled  them  freely 
at  all  hours ; who,  like  the  great  and  illustrious  Stevens,  insisted  upon 
the  education  of  their  children ; their  participation  in  the  government 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  in  the  distribution  of  the  official 
favors  of  the  Administration.  Wherever  he  goes  the  gratitude  and 
love  of  the  colored  people  of  America  will  follow  John  W.  Forney. 

In  response  to  the  electric  words  of  Professor  Langston, 


X 


OLONEL  pOF^NEY 

Stated  that  the  part  he  had  taken  in  all  these  interesting  and  exciting 
years  was  the  result  of  profound  convictions.  Ho  could  not  help 
following  these  convictions.  Reared  in  the  school  of  the  pro-slavery 
democracy  he  had  only  to  come  face  to  face  with  the  wrongs,  exactions, 
and  tyrannies  of  that  hateful  institution,  to  resist  them  and  to  separate 
from  those  who  sustained  them.  His  experience  in  Congress,  espe- 
cially in  the  historical  and  tumultuous  session  of  1855-G,  when  for 
more  than  two  months  he  was  compelled,  as  Clerk  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  to  preside  over  that  body  until  General  Banks  was 
chosen  Speaker,  assured  him  that  the  Democratic  party  could  never 
triumph  until  it  changed  its  entire  policy  and  ranged  itself  square  on 
the  side  of  opposition  to  slavery.  His  experience  in  the  administration 
of  General  Pierce,  when  he  saw  his  friend  Reeder  stricken  down,  as 
Governor  of  Kansas,  by  Jefferson  Davis — then  Secretary  of  War — 
simply  because  he  refused  to  countenance  the  conspiracy  by  which 
slavery  was  to  be  forced  into  that  Territory,  like  his  experience  in  the 
’succeeding  administration  of  James  Buchanan — when  that  conspiracy 
was  made  a test  in  the  Democratic  party — fixed  his  destiny  in  the 
Republican  column,  and  ho  thanked  God  that  he  had  the  nerve  to 
follow  his  faith  from  that  hour  to  this.  No  period  of  his  life  was  to 
him  so  full  of  satisfaction  as  the  part  he  had  been  able  to  take  in 
assisting  to  emancipate,  to  elevate,  to  educate,  and  to  strengthen  the 
colored  men  of  America.  It  was  among  his  sweetest  memories  and  his 
supremest  joys,  and  in  going  hence  to  another  and  an  older  field,  to 
battle  for  the  same  cause,  and  to  labor  to  the  same  end,  while  feeling 
that  he  parted  from  those  whose  kindness  was  all  the  more  honorable 
because  he  had  nothing  to  give  in  return  but  the  record  of  his  life,  he 
desired  to  impress  upon  them  the  emphatic  counsel,  that  if  they  would 
succeed,  they  must  unite.  If  they  would  preserve  what  has  been 
gained  by  them,  they  must  cease  these  miserable  dissensions.  The 
District  of  Columbia,  last  election,  was  lost  by  personal  quarrels  among 
themselves.  Hostile  influences  were  planted  here,  under  Democratic 
auspices,  solely  by  these  unhappy  feuds.  He  had,  in  his  own  humble 
way,  protested  against  this  state  of  things,  and  he  was  glad  to  see 


the  first  time,  fraternizing  like  brothers.  lie  felt  proud  that  the 
occasion  of  this  tribute  to  him  was  also  the  occasion  of  reunion  among 
themselves.  No  party,  no  organization,  no  corporation,  no  body  of  men, 
dedicated  to  any  purpose  or  principle,  can  succeed  without  toleration, 
self-denial,  and  harmony.  The  future  of  our  great  country,  though  far 
brighter  than  that  of  other  nations,  is  still  clouded.  Many  of  the  doubts 
that  have  settled  upon  it  arc  the  outgrowth  of  the  absence  of  disin- 
terested patriotism  in  many  of  our  public  men.  He  is  no  fit  leader 
who  cannot  ignore  himself  for  the  sake  of  his  cause.  He  is  no  fit 

follower  who  cannot  overlook  the  errors  of  his  leader.  We  cannot  all 
be  captains,  or  generals,  or  Senators,  or  Presidents.  Discipline  is 
essential  to  the  success  of  principle.  A party  is  but  the  weapon  with 
which  we  beat  down  our  antagonists.  Can  we  not  be  as  united  in  the 
right  as  these  antagonists  are  united  in  the  wrong? 

In  conclusion  Colonel  Forney  thanked  his  distinguished  friend. 
Professor  Langston,  for  the  manner  of  his  welcome.  Identified  with 
the  progress  of  education  among  the  freed  people  in  this  vicinity,  as 
its  most  effective  and  illustrious  teacher,  he  felt  the  honor  more  deeply, 
coming  from  one  whose  progress  in  life,  and  whose  present  high  posi- 
tion, were  perhaps  among  the  best  examples  that  could  be  offered  to  his 
rising  and  redeemed  race.  Observing  in  this  crowded  audience  a 
distinguished  gentleman,  who,  like  himself,  had  once  been  a member 
of  the  Democratic  party,  and  who,  after  a brilliant  service  in  the  field, 
and  in  the  popular  branch  of  Congress,  had  just  been  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  by  a grateful  constituency,  he  would  ask 
permission  to  propose  the  health  and  prosperity  of  General  John  A. 
Logan,  of  Illinois. 

pENERAL  jJoH  N p.  J^OGAN 

Came  forward  and  spoke  briefly  and  pointedly  in  honor  of  the  guest 
and  of  the  occasion,  after  which,  with  many  more  speeches  from  the 
representative  men  of  the  Republican  party  in  Congress  and  from 
leading  men  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  District,  the  company 
broke  up  in  excellent  humor. 


V 


p) 


jSATUF^DAY  jiVENING,  jJaNUARY  28,  1 8j  1 . 

gentlemen  representing  the  various  great  newspapers  of  the  country  in  Washington,  the  Capital  of 
SfiSg^the  United  States  Government,  together  with  a number  of  the  editors  of  the  local  press,  assembled  at 
fJWWelcker’s  restaurant,  to  take  part  in  a complimentary  dinner  to  Colonel  J.  W.  Kornev,  late  editor 
y and  proprietor  of  the  Daily  and  Sunday  Chronicle , prior  to  his  departure  from  among  them. 


JhE  pOLLOWING  J'lAMED  JOURNALISTS  ERE  p*R 


ESENT  : 


CROSBY  S.  NOYES,  Evening  Star. 

W.  J.  MURTAGII,  National  Republican. 

JOHN  M.  MORRIS,  Daily  Chronicle. 

THOMAS  B.  FLORENCE,  Sunday  Gazette. 
0.  K.  HARRIS,  Daily  Patriot. 

A.  B.  TALCOTT,  Daily  Patriot. 

J.  N.  BURRITT,  Sunday  Herald. 

BEN.  PERLEY  POORE,  Boston  Journal. 
L.  A.  GOBRIGHT,  Associated  Press. 

GEORGE  W.  ADAMS,  New  York  World. 

W.  B.  SHAW,  Chicago  Journal. 

J.  MACFARLAND,  Philadelphia  Press. 
L.  Q.  WASHINGTON,  London  Telegraph. 

W.  W.  WARDEN,  Boston  Post. 

JOHN  F.  COYLE,  N.  7.  Democrat. 

W.  P.  COPELAND,  N.  7.  Journal  of  Commerce. 


JAMES  R.  YOUNG,  N.  7.  Standard. 

Z.  L.  WHITE,  N.  7.  Tribune. 

WALTER  ALLEN,  Boston  Advertiser. 

F.  A.  RICHARDSON,  Balt.  Associated  Press. 
E.  P.  BROOKS,  Philadelphia  Day. 

U.  H.  PAINTER,  Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

FINLEY  ANDERSON,  N.  7.  Herald. 

R.  J.  HINTON,  N.  7.  Evening  Mail. 

M.  W.  BARR,  Southern  Associated  Press. 

J.  G.  HOLLAND,  N.  7.  Associated  Press. 

D.  F.  MURPHY,  The  Daily  Globe. 

GEO.  ALFRED  TOWNSEND,  Chicago  Tribune. 
DONN  PIATT,  Cincinnati  Commercial. 

G.  B.  P.  RINGWALT,  Sunday  Morning  Chronicle. 

D.  C.  FORNEY,  Sunday  Morning  Chronicle. 

JOHN  W.  FORNEY,  Jr.,  Sunday  Morning  Chronicle. 


yHE  pOLLOWING  ^ERE  j^RESENT  AS  JNVITED  pUESTS  OF  pOLONEL  pORNEY : 

HON.  CHARLES  SUMNER,  of  Massachusetts:  DANIEL  DOUGHERTY  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia. 

COL.  THOMAS  FITZGERALD,  Philadelphia  City  Item.  GEN.  C.  Iv.  GRAHAM,  of  New  York. 


JHE  pOLLOWING  ^ERE  JNVITED,  ^UT  poULD  JJOT  ^TTENO  : 

HON.  MORTON  McMICIIAEL,  North  American,  Philadelphia.  DR.  R.  SHELTON  MACKENZIE.  Press.  Philadelphia. 


EDWIN  FORREST,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 


MENU, 

Samedj  Ie  2g  ]anVier  >871. 


DINER  DE  40  COUVERTS. 


Assiettes  D’huitres  et  Citron. 


POT  AGE  S. 

Consomme  de  Volaille  aux  Ravioles. 


HOBS  D’fETJVRES. 

Bouch£es  X la  Montglas. 


Satjmon  A la  R£gence. 


POISSON. 

Pommes  de  Terre  A la  Duchesse. 


RELErEE. 

Filet  de  Bceuf,  pique  au  vin  de  Madere. 

EN  TREES. 

SUPREMOS  DE  FAISANS  A LA  DAUPHINE. 

Timbales  de  Macaroni  A la  Parisiennb. 
Ris  de  Veau  A la  Montpensier. 


•flfuacb  8ardimrL 


BOTIS. 

Salade  de  Laituc.  Canvas-back  Duck.  Currant  Gel£e. 

Ciiaufroix  de  Cailles  en  Voliere. 

ENTREMETS. 

Petit  Pois.  Haricots  Verts.  Asperges. 


ENTREMETS  S VCR  EES. 

Gelee  Dansic.  Pouding  A la  Vesu VIENNE. 


Glaces  Vari£es. 


PIECES  MONTEES. 

Pavillon  Chinois  en  Pastillage. 

Croquembouche  A la  Renaisance. 

Charlotte  Moderns. 


DESSERT  ET  CAFE. 


